Erin Burns was born in California. She studied painting at the University of California at Berkeley where she attained a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree with honours. She studied with and was greatly influenced by the late Wendy Sussman, who encouraged her to move to New York City to further her studies. Erin went on to receive a Masters of Fine Arts degree from New York University, also graduating with honours. There she studied with and was the studio assistant to Cora Cohen and then to Lisa Yuskavage.After several successful shows in her native San Francisco she moved to the UK and in 2005/06 was awarded a one year residency at the Florence Trust Studios in Highbury, London. Her work involves delicately painting and marking the surface of a photograph taken in a natural environment which is then mounted on aluminium and then covered in multiple layers of viscous polymer resin and paint. The viewer appears to be looking through a translucent solid where textures, layers, and imagery converge.

Erin has shown in Paris, New York, San Francisco, London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. She now lives and works in Brighton. Her corporate clients include Nordstrom who commissioned five pieces for their new flagship store in Palm Beach, Florida. Her work is also in these fine collections: The Ritz Carleton Hotel, Marina Del Rey; The Dorchester Hotel, London; and Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.